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Floor insulation - what is it and how much can I save?

While walls and ceilings are the most commonly insulated parts of a home, you should also consider insulating the floors. By installing floor insulation you can save more from your energy bills, improve the energy efficiency of your home, and make your floor more durable. There are a variety of materials used to insulate floors that includes reflective foils to prevent the heat from escaping and fiberglass insulation is used to reinforce it from temperature swaps.

For many years it was believed that heat rises and it was used as an excuse not to insulate the floor so we could focus on insulating walls and ceilings to avoid heat loss. Heat does not go up but hot air does. In that sense, heat loss can happen through the floor that is if the space between or below the floor is not insulated. Therefore, even if your walls and ceilings are properly insulated, your home is not fully energy efficient yet until floor insulation is installed.

Things to Consider

The ideal floor to insulate is the one with an area underneath that is not controlled by heating systems and is totally vented. There are several things to consider before you decide to insulate the floor:

It doesn’t make sense to insulate a floor if the spaces on top and below are controlled by heating systems. For instance, a room on top and the kitchen underneath of a two level apartment

Do not insulate a floor that has an inadequate vented space underneath. Moisture can be trapped within and cause damage to the floor in the long run

A drainage system must be installed beforehand for floors which has wet areas below them before insulating. Again, moisture could cause damage to the floor

Types of Floor Insulator

Floor insulators can be installed in several ways depending on the type of floor you have. Some insulators can be blown to fill the empty spaces within the floor, and some can be fitted manually employing the batting method. Mineral wool reinforced with nets can be used to insulate wooden floors. A typical sealing agent like silicon can also be used to fill the spaces amid the skirting and floor boards to prevent cold air from coming through.

Although a number of these floor insulators can be installed via DIY means, it is highly recommended to consult a professional contractor first to know the best option to get your floor insulated.

How much can you save?

If you have decided to do the floor insulation job yourself, the following are the estimated savings that can be achieved:

Floor insulation. The cost of materials to be used will be around £100. An annual savings of about £50 from your energy bills can be realized and the payback time is about 2 years. You will also be helping the fight against climate change by reducing the carbon dioxide production of your home by around 240 kg

Filling spaces amid skirting and floor boards. The approximate cost of materials needed is around £20. A cut of about £20 from energy bills per year can be achieved and payback is 1 year. Carbon dioxide reduction will be around 100 kg. With this approach, a smaller amount of money is needed but a smaller amount of savings will also be the result

You can always see how energy efficient your home is by ordering an energy performance report. This will show you how you can improve the energy efficiency of your home.

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